FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Golf fans won't have to wait long to watch Bryson DeChambeau at the 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on Friday.
The two-time U.S. Open champion will partner with Justin Thomas in the first match of foursomes (alternate-shot) at 7:10 a.m. ET. They'll face the European duo of Spain's Jon Rahm and England's Tyrrell Hatton.
"Besides the fact that they're both phenomenal players, they both bring a spark to our team," U.S. team captain Keegan Bradley said of DeChambeau and Thomas. "Bryson has been an incredible teammate in the locker room, and we really want him to lead our team out with Justin in the first match."
DeChambeau and Thomas never have played together in a Ryder Cup match.
"We've got a big responsibility and role," DeChambeau said. "We're going to be going up against a great team, Rahm and Hatton. They're a formidable force, but we want to send a message."
When DeChambeau was asked what he expected from U.S. fans on the first tee Friday morning, he added: "Tsunami of a wave of support."
Hatton and Rahm went 2-0 in foursomes in the last Ryder Cup, which the Europeans won 16½-11½ at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club outside Rome two years ago. Rahm is 4-0 in foursomes in three previous appearances.
"We want to start strong, obviously," European team captain Luke Donald said. "We know that in match play you've got to get off to a good start. These guys have had a lot of success together. They know how to win. They're a strong partnership; they get along well. We're very happy to send them out first."
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley will take on Europe's Ludvig Åberg and Matt Fitzpatrick in the second match. Scheffler, who has won 13 times on the PGA Tour the past two seasons, will try to rebound from going 0-2-2 in Italy.
The third U.S. team is a bit of a surprise, with two-time major champion Collin Morikawa playing with Harris English, who is competing in his second Ryder Cup. They'll face Masters champion Rory McIlroy and Tour Championship winner Tommy Fleetwood, who have been two of Europe's best performers in recent Ryder Cups.
The last match features Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele against Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and Norway's Viktor Hovland. Schauffele won two major championships in 2024 but struggled this past season after suffering a rib injury.
"We've had this lineup set for a long time," Bradley said.
Two years ago, the Americans were swept in foursomes to start the Ryder Cup, the first time a European team led 4-0 after the first session. It was a bit of a surprise that Donald and his vice captains split up a few of the teams that were so successful at Marco Simone.
Åberg and Hovland earned a 4-and-3 victory in their first foursomes match, then defeated Scheffler and Brooks Koepka 9-and-7 in 11 holes in foursomes on the Saturday, the most lopsided victory in an 18-hole match in Ryder Cup history. Ireland's Shane Lowry and Austria's Sepp Straka held on for a 2-and-1 win in the first session.
Donald said the European team relied on analytics, in part, in setting up its pairings.
"A little bit of statistics, looking at the golf course, and a little bit that it's two years from Rome," he said. "People's profiles and people's games change. Again, we went with what we thought was the strongest match. We're trying to win. We're trying to get our strongest pairings out, and this is what we feel like is our strongest group."
Åberg said he has played a lot of golf with Fitzpatrick the past couple of weeks.
"It's a plan set in place by Luke, and we all trust in that," Åberg said. "It's going to be a lot of fun, and [I'm] looking forward to playing some good golf together."
Lowry, Straka, Justin Rose and Ryder Cup rookie Rasmus Højgaard are sitting out the first session.
U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, Sam Burns, Ben Griffin and Cameron Young aren't playing for the Americans in foursomes.
The opening session will be followed by four four-ball (best ball) matches, starting at 12:25 p.m. ET Friday. The same schedule will be played again Saturday, followed by 12 singles matches Sunday.
The Europeans need 14 points to retain the Ryder Cup; the Americans need 14½ points to take it back.
The home team has captured the past five Ryder Cups; the Europeans' last victory on U.S. soil was a 14½-13½ comeback at Medinah Country Club in Illinois in 2012.